1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a Personal Call Manager, a.k.a. Personal Communications Manager (PCM) providing subscribers integrated access to communications services through a data network, such services include a Remote Access to Caller Identification (RACLID) system. The RACLID system enables subscribers to review caller identification information associated with incoming calls to the subscriber's telephone line from a remote location.
2. Acronyms
The written description provided herein contains acronyms which refer to various telecommunications services, components and techniques, as well as features relating to the present invention. Although some of these acronyms are known, use of these acronyms is not strictly standardized in the art. For purposes of the written description herein, the acronyms are defined as follows:                Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)        Authentication/Subscription Information (ASI)        Caller Identification (Caller ID)        Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)        Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF)        Graphical User Interface (GUI)        Generic Data Interface (GDI)        HyperText Mark-Up Language (HTML)        HyperText Transfer Language Protocol (HTTP)        Incoming Call Manager (ICM)        Integrated Service Control Point (ISCP)        Interactive Voice Response (IVR)        Java Database Conductivity (JDBC)        Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP)        Line Information Database (LIDB)        Outgoing Call Control (OCC)        Personal Computer (PC)        Personal Call Manager/Personal Communications Manager (PCM)        Personal Identification Number (PIN)        Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)        Remote Access to Caller Identification (RACLID)        Service Management System (SMS)        Service Node (SN)        Service Switching Point (SSP)        Signaling System 7 (SS7)        Signaling Transfer Point (STP)        Terminating Attempt Trigger (TAT)        Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP)        Transmission Control Protocol/internet Protocol (TCP/IP)        User Interface (UI)        World Wide Web (WWW)        
3. Background Information
Currently, subscribers to call control services within the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) are able to initiate and modify their services by calling a customer service representative or by interacting with an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system using a standard Dual Tone Multi-Frequency (DTMF) telephone device. These methods practically limit the number and types of services that can be provided to and modified by the subscribers because all information pertaining to the services is presented audibly. In addition, the potential market for subscribers to call control services is not fully exploited because of customer reluctance to use IVR systems. An additional drawback is that, conventionally, each PSTN service has a corresponding IVR interface, so that as a customer subscribes to additional services, he or she must keep track of additional IVR telephone numbers and Personal Identification Numbers (PINs).
There have been attempts to remedy the problems associated with IVR access to PSTN services. These attempts incorporate use of packet switched data networks, such as the Internet, to avoid conventional IVR systems and to streamline the initiation and modification functions. The current Internet based systems have several drawbacks, however, including the inability to ensure near real-time update of services and incompatibility with existing IVR implementations.
For many call control services, the subscribers must submit requests to the customer service arm of their provider to initiate new services or update existing ones. The requests are implemented according to the provider's time line and discretion. It is difficult for the users to gauge when the service alteration will take effect. Also, because the current Internet based systems operate exclusively from the conventional IVR systems, i.e., the two systems cannot coexist, customers must select either the Internet interface or the IVR interface. Consequently, a customer who has selected the Internet interface, and who is without a PC and/or Internet access, is not able to make desired changes to his or her services through an IVR. The inability to implement desired changes is especially troublesome considering that users are often interested in altering some call services (e.g., call forwarding, paging, and caller ID) when they are away from their home or business telephone and PC.
An example of call control services provided over a packet switched data network is described in CHANG et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,016, which teaches enabling Advanced Intelligence Network (AIN) services over the World Wide Web (WWW) through a provisioning system called the Service Management System (SMS). The SMS as disclosed in CHANG et al., however, does not ensure near real-time data update and is not compatible with existing IVR implementations.
Therefore, the services presented via the Web are limited in functionality to the extent near real-time data updates are not guaranteed. For example, if a subscriber modifies an incoming call service, which blocks calls from selected phone numbers or classes of phone numbers, to add an allowed incoming phone number, the subscriber will not begin immediately to receive calls from the previously blocked phone number. Rather, the subscriber must wait an unspecified period of time for the service to be updated via the SMS. Also, as discussed above, the Web interface and the IVR interface are mutually exclusive.
The present invention pertains to a Personal Call Manager, a.k.a. a Personal Communications Manager (PCM) system that resolves these problems, simply and efficiently. The PCM provides an interface to telecommunication services, such as personal directories, Incoming Call Manager (ICM), Outgoing Call Control (OCC) and the like. In addition, the PCM interfaces to an improved caller identification (Caller ID) system, referred to as Remote Access to Caller Identification (RACLID). Conventional Caller ID services provided through the PSTN necessitate the attachment of Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) to a telephone jack corresponding to the telephone number(s) subscribing to the Caller ID service. The user may review a log of Caller ID information associated with incoming calls by physically reviewing the information displayed on the CPE. Typically, the Caller ID information includes the name and/or number of the calling party, as well as the date and time of the incoming telephone call.
A limitation of the conventional service is that, in order to review the Caller ID information, the subscriber must be present at the CPE. It would be advantageous, however, for subscribers to be able to review their Caller ID information remotely, e.g., at work, while commuting, on vacation, etc. Because callers do not always leave messages on an answering device or service, which may be remotely accessible, a subscriber cannot determine through the conventional Caller ID service who has attempted to call until the subscriber physically returns and views the CPE. Consequently, the conventional Caller ID system has several drawbacks, including delayed awareness of incoming telephone calls and subsequently delayed response to those calls.
Some attempts at solving these problems associated with CPE implemented Caller ID services have been presented. For example, VOIT et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,751,707, discloses transmitting Caller ID information to a server using GDI. Also, DANNE et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,946,381, discloses running a JAVA application on a terminal to receive Caller ID information over the World Wide Web (WWW).
However, these attempts have several inherent disadvantages. For instance, in both DANNE et al. and VOIT et al., processing of the telephone call is interrupted in order to perform the Caller ID function. Also, the methods provide Caller ID information only when the call is in progress, and in the case of DANNE et al., only when the user is online and running a JAVA application. That is, the user cannot obtain the Caller ID information at his or her convenience. Finally, a significant portion of the intelligence aspects of the DANNE et al. Caller ID system is required to be in the terminals, thus limiting the types of devices that can access the Caller ID information.
The present invention overcomes the problems associated with the prior art, as described below.